This is a collection of news about border issues, particularly those seen from Arizona and regarding the right to keep and bear arms. Sources often include Mexican media. It's often interesting to see how different the view is from the south.
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Thursday, October 4, 2012

AZMEX UPDATE2 4-10-12

AZMEX UPDATE 2 4 OCT 2012

Note: As of 12:00 AZ time, still no confirmation from Mexican sources.

BISBEE — The FBI has not confirmed the arrest of two men in northern
Mexico as suspects in the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent
Nicholas Ivie that took place in the early morning on Tuesday in
southern Cochise County.
The Herald/Review, in conjunction with El Mirador newspaper in Naco,
Sonora, were unable to confirm the report with Mexican officials on
Wednesday evening.

On Wednesday, the Reuters news service reported that two suspects
detained in Mexico were arrested in a Mexican military operation in
Agua Prieta, Sonora, according to a Mexican Army officer, who
declined to be named. A Mexican police official in Naco, Sonora,
confirmed to Reuters the arrests, which occurred in the early hours
of Wednesday morning.
Brenda Lee Nath, acting public information officer with the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, told the Herald/Review on Wednesday that "We
are unable to confirm the rumors about the arrests in Mexico and we
have no comment."
Rod Rothrock, chief deputy of the Cochise County Sheriff's Office,
told the Herald/Review that the Border Patrol is working to
corroborate or confirm rumors that Mexican authorities apprehended
suspects in connection with the shootings.

Authorities continued to investigate the shooting incident on
Wednesday. On Tuesday at about 1:33 a.m., the Sheriff's Office was
advised of the incident seven miles east of Bisbee and five miles
north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
"The initial information received was that three U.S. Border Patrol
agents were heading to the area in response to an activated sensor
when they were reportedly fired upon by unknown suspect(s). This
incident occurred as the agents, two males and one female, were
walking up a hill toward the crest on foot," according to a press
release from the Sheriff's Office.
Agents were already on scene and securing the area upon the arrival
of deputies. One female agent was not injured, one male agent
received serious but non-life threatening injuries, and one male
agent was fatally wounded. The injured agent was airlifted to a
Tucson hospital for surgery.
Ivie, 30, the deceased agent, was airlifted to the Pima County
Medical Examiner's Office by Border Patrol air support Tuesday for
the completion of an autopsy. His body was transported to the
Hatfield Funeral Home in Sierra Vista on Wednesday.

The Border Patrol issued a media update on Wednesday morning stating
that the agent who was injured in the shooting was released from the
hospital.
"CBP appreciates the support it has received from its law enforcement
partners and community members from around the nation," it stated.
"The FBI is the lead investigation agency in this case."
On Wednesday, the FBI released a statement saying, "It is early in
the investigation and the FBI is actively engaged with our law
enforcement partners. The FBI is still processing the scene and is
unable to provide further details."

According to the Sheriff's Office, this is an active and ongoing
investigation in cooperation jointly with the FBI. Officials don't
plan to release any information regarding specifics on weapons found,
caliber of weapons used in the incident, or suspect(s) in the incident.
Border Patrol Borstar agents tracked signs found in the immediate
area, but the Sheriff's Office was unable to provide additional
information of that search. The Sheriff's Office press release also
states that it can not confirm the accuracy of several rumors in
relation to the Border Patrol having people in custody.

Ivie was assigned to the Brian Terry Border Patrol Station in Naco,
Arizona. He was a native of Provo, Utah, and he joined the Border
Patrol in January of 2008. Heidi Toth, city editor of the Daily
Herald in Provo, contacted his sister-in-law, Amy Morris, who lives
in Spanish Fork, Utah, (just south of Provo).
"(Nicholas) and Christy, his wife, were in the same stake of single
adults in the LDS church when they met. At the time they met Nick was
a volunteer EMT for Spanish Fork city. He and Christy have two
beautiful little girls — Raigan who is 4, and Presley, who is 20
months. He enjoyed spending time with his family. He loved horses,
and spending time outdoors with his family and friends," Morris
stated in an e-mail to Toth.
"His brother Joel is also a Border Patrol Agent in Arizona. That
influenced him and helped him in his decision to become a Border
Patrol agent. I believe the fear of this tragedy is in the back of
each and every Border Patrol agent's family members' minds. Nick
absolutely loved his job. One of Nick's many passions was working
with horses and he had the opportunity to do that every day of his
career. He had been an agent since 2008. Nick grew up in Provo and
attended Timpview High School," she added.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Mexican Consulate in
Douglas stated: "The Government of Mexico has been in constant
communication with its U.S. counterparts since it received
notification of the incident where a Border Patrol agent sadly lost
his life, and offered and has been providing all its support in the
investigations that are being carried out. Given that there is an
ongoing investigation, we have no additional comment at this time."

Richard Hodges, who owns a ranch near Bisbee Junction that is located
in the general vicinity of Tuesday's shooting incident, told the
Herald/Review there has been a significant increase in drug
trafficking in this area.
"You see, we don't have the big groups, you know, grandma and
grandpa and the 14 cousins. They don't come over that wall," he
said. "Virtually, if they are not Middle Eastern, every one we have
is a drug runner. We have some that are definitely Other Than
Mexicans and they are not carrying any types of backpacks or anything."
He said the border fence is not effective. He thinks the U.S.
government should put Constantine wire on top of the fence to prevent
people from climbing over it.

Glenn Spencer, president of American Border Patrol, a nongovernmental
border watch group based in Hereford, told the Herald/Review the
murder of Ivie shouldn't have happened. He added that had the U.S.
government built the border fence they way it was supposed to, the
smugglers wouldn't have been there to shoot him.
He pointed out the Secure Fence Act of 2006 called for the
construction of a double-layered fence along the entire stretch of
border east and west of Naco, Ariz., — the site of the killing. Yet,
today, some of the fence just south of the incident is 20 years old
and only 10 feet high. And, some of the new fencing is so poorly
designed that it can be cut through or climbed over with ease.
"I recently spoke with John Ladd, a Naco area border rancher, who
said in the past couple of months he had three drug loads driven
across his ranch — and they got away. There is a cheap fence along
the border at his ranch," Spencer added.
According to the Sheriff's Office, the three Border Patrol agents
had responded to a sensor hit near mile marker 352 on Highway 80.
Spencer said these ground sensors are so unreliable the agents may
not have expected to find anything and had their guard down. One
government report found that they had a false alarm rate of 91 percent.
Spencer added that the agents were based out of the new Naco Station
— built at a cost of $30 million. He said if he had been given that
$30 million, he could have secured the border at Naco, kept the old
station open, and moved half of the agents to other spots where they
were needed.
"The new station was named after Brian Terry, victim of another act
of negligence by our federal government. What are they going to name
after Nicholas Ivie — the new amnesty program?" he said.

A local group will be holding a rally on Saturday near the Brian
Terry Station at 11 a.m. to voice concerns regarding the murder of
Ivie. The event will honor the fallen and support Border Patrol.
Speakers will include: Al Garza, former National Executive Director
of the Minutemen, John Ladd, a local rancher, and Connie Foust,
former national Minuteman leader.
"Understand our government is more respectful to illegal aliens than
it is to United States Citizens and we will no longer stand by in
political correctness and watch our Republic and our Constitution
trampled on by an open border that not one politician has yet stood
tall to protect our rights under the law," Foust states in a press
release.

Herald/Review reporter Derek Jordan contributed to this article.

Note: Following is an example of activity along the AZMEX border.

Hermosillo, Son., To October 1, 2012.
Results obtained by troops of the 4 / a. Military Zone.

The Ministry of National Defense through the Commander of the 4 / a.
Military Zone informs the public that within the framework of the
Comprehensive Strategy of the Mexican state against Drug Trafficking
and Organized Crime in Sonora Regional Operation "II-2012," troops of
the territorial command in the period From 1 August to 30 September
this year, criminal red handed arrested 40 people and seized the
following:

It also destroyed by the method of hand work and incineration 2,588
marijuana plants with an area of ​​339.0600 hectares, four poppy
plantations with an area of ​​0.6800 hectares, five barns, five
camps and 13 clandestine airstrips.

Detainees were secured and made available to the appropriate
authorities.

It states that the performance of military personnel is always done
in strict compliance with the laws, ensuring full respect for
individual rights and human rights.